Suna. Sakura had always thought the name was a pretty, though she knew from her few times passing through the dessert lands that Suna was a much less forgiving climate than what she had experienced most of her life. Konoha, even during the cold seasons, always provided comfortable climates and weather, moisture, cool breezes in the summer.
Suna was a foreign place, filled with discomforts. The blazing sun could sear her skin in what seemed like mere seconds - no wonder everyone wore long sleeves and cowls to cover their heads! And when the wind did blow, it didn't seem to be a cool, soothing breeze, but an assault of millions of tiny grains of sand pelting you painfully, leaving you with a film of dust over sweaty skin. The nights were cold. Sometimes frigid! A drastic change from the daytime, at night you were forced to bundle up in layers to keep from turning into an icicle. And the wind would bite at your skin, riddled with sand, always sand.
Sakura remembered the lack of plant and animal life, unless you counted the occasional creepy looking lizard, cactus, or scavenger birds, which were never a pretty sight.
Luckily, Sakura would only have to spend a few months in Suna, then she could flee back home to sweet Kohona, and return to everything she knew and loved; family, team mates, friends.
Sakura had taken the chance to read over the information Konoha had on Suna - she figured the more she knew, the more prepared she'd be, and more importantly, the less likely she'd get caught unawares. Sakura did hate looking idiotic, and she always did her best to represent Konoha in the most professional, impressive manner. She was, after all, their second-most skilled medical ninja, aside from her mentor.
Suna's population being as low as it was, much lower than Konoha's, and with the number of skilled medical ninjas waning, Sakura seemed the only ninja qualified and available to visit Suna and assist with curing recent illnesses that plagued the citizens there. Her mission was simple enough - train new and upcoming medical ninjas on Chakra control, basic healing techniques, as well as some life-preserving emergency techniques that Suna's mednins might need. This sould solidify the alliance between Suna and Konoha further, and strengthen their teams, as Suna and Konoha were likely to be working together more and more for future missions.
Suna was a different place indeed - as it stood, rarely did a team go out on a mission accompanied by a medical ninja - there simply weren't enough ranked medical ninjas available for a mission. Due to the extreme deadly skill of Suna's ninjas, they were constantly commissioned, groups sent out on dangerous missions, most that could be considered no better than suicide missions without the assistance of a medical ninja. Of the hand-full of medical staff available, a few were unable to travel, having to remain in the village to attend to those in the hospital, and to assist in case of an attack on the village. With the devastating loss of Chiyo, the village found itself lacking a good medical trainer and mentor. It was a wonder any of their ninja survived under these circumstances, but then again, that could explain Suna's small population of only top-notch, frighteningly deadly ninjas; the weak had been thinned out by random illness or otherwise mission related deaths.
With Suna's population somehow rising just within the most recent decade, many of the medical ninjas Sakura would be seeing were very young and inexperienced.
The report Sakura had been given told that she would be training a few very young, hopeful medical ninjas, some of the best Suna had to offer in the way of Chakra control, most essential to healing. Additionally, Sakura would be assisting in the hospital alongside their few remaining experienced medical ninjas, though experienced was a term that was likely being misused here - with the loss of so many elders in recent years, the level of expertise that these medical ninjas possessed would be questionable.
Sakura was definitely the most eligible candidate for this task, despite not wanting to be involved in the slightest. Suna was even kind enough to send over a few ninjas to accompany Sakura in her journey to Suna, to meet her at the border of the Country of Wind.
Where the Fire met Wind, there was an almost abrupt change in environment, rather than gradual. Sakura felt she could stand with one foot in lush forest, the other in desert wasteland. Peering out across the desert toward her goal, she tried to imagine what about this mission she could enjoy… Temari would be pleasant occasional company, if both Temari and Sakura weren't both too terribly busy to coordinate some girl time, though Sakura didn't expect much; she'd heard Temari traveled much, acting as an ambassador of sorts. Kankuro was a tad on the perverse side, but a generally jovial guy, easy to get along with. He too was very busy with missions. Finally, there was Gaara.
The thought of Gaara sent an immediate chill down Sakura's spine. Sakura told herself that Gaara had been the result of years of emotional tumoil, a hateful environment, being preyed upon when he should have been nurtured. Gaara and Naruto weren't so different, except Gaara never reaped the benefit of a truly kind hand, a caring elder, a happy childhood. She recalled the almost instant change in Gaara when Chiyo granted him a second life. That ultimate sacrifice combined with the retrieval efforts of both the hidden leaf and Suna seemed to immediately change something in Gaara, something for the better. Gaara, having turned all of his thoughts and efforts to protecting and uplifting his village, had become a most celebrated, admired, yet feared Kazecage.
Sakura's worries subsided as the horizon afforded her a breathtaking view of Suna. Sakura took a moment to admire that grand introduction, hoping this mission would accomplish much for the people of Suna and the relationship with their villages.